If I remember correctly one reason for the rings is to form a barrier against another sword cutting through your sword. They might also provide a sort of grabbing effect against other weapons, to drag them.

They haven't been used as weapons for a very long time, and traditions are hard to set aside.

China invented gunpowser, rockets and firearms, which became the weaponry of warfare long ago.

One of the purposes of flags, etc. is to provide a more confusing image for your opponent. If the flag provides a distraction and they say move towards it, it creates other openings to exploit.

It would take a real study of Chinese martial weapons history to know who actually used such a sword. Did the military use it, or was it developed for private usage, and then just hung around as time passed?

I would indeed tend to think of the colourful tassel/cloth attached to chinese swords as a means of diversion. When I watch my instructor's daughter doing her straight sword forms (she's the school's best student and a multiple national champion), it strikes me that the tassel catches the eye much more than the blade does, and since she spins her weapon very fast it's almost impossible to keep visual track of the blade: the eye always gets back to the damn tassel, which is precisely the opposite way. So I guess it's its original purpose... Just my opinion though.

well my brother and i spar with this and the chinese dao alot (obviously dulled weapons) and i can vouch personally for the distractive nature of the tassel. when watching movies of other peoples forms it isnt nearly apparent when actually versing someone lol.

the rings have several purposes the most obvious is it is loud and distracting. the other you need to understand a bit of the culture. the chinese have and always had ALOT of people in their nation and in a war constantly. with that comes the need to supply many men with many weapons. unlike the japanese samuri who were much fewer(and way richer than pesants) their swords could be made high quality(katanas ect) the chinese had to just make swords quickly and easily to supply their rediculious demand and therir for the quality suffered alot. in battle constantly blocking with the edge of your cheap (often flex steel) sword would leave you with a bent cut up peice of metal (shown well in jet li's movie "fearless" or "twin brothers" when they fight on scaffolding. so many chinese forms and blocks are with the back of the sord to not ruin your edge and dull your enemys at the same time. the rings not only further protected your sword but dulled and ruined your enemys blade! wich is great for its user because it also increases its reusableity because the rings could be replaced and not the entire blade.

/chinese valued their hilt/handel/pommels and usually kept that and just replaced the blade after a battle. also another reason to have fancy tassels to show your status/possibly skill